Four former UM standouts to be inducted into Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame – KRTV NEWS Great Falls
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(Editor’s note: University of Montana media release)
MISSOULA — The University of Montana athletic department announced the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame incoming class of 2022, as well as this year’s recipient of the Grizzly Lifetime Honors Award on Monday.
All five of this year’s honorees are homegrown from the state of Montana, with three hailing from Missoula.
All-American runner Scott McGowan of Poplar, Lady Griz Big Sky MVP Ann (Lake) Rausch of Missoula, All-America offensive lineman Thatcher Szalay of Whitefish, and championship-winning basketball player and coach Blaine Taylor of Missoula will all be inducted in the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame class of 2022.
Long-time voice of Montana athletics “Grizzly” Bill Schwanke will be UM’s fourth recipient of the Grizzly Lifetime Honors Award.
The Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame was founded in 1993 to pay tribute and give lasting recognition to those student-athletes, coaches, and teams who have made exceptional contributions and brought recognition, honor, and distinction to the University of Montana in the field of Intercollegiate Athletics, and who have continued to demonstrate in their lives the values imparted by their experience. Induction into the Hall of Fame represents the highest athletic honor the university can bestow.
Established in 2018, the Grizzly Lifetime Honors Award pays tribute and gives recognition to supporters of Grizzly Athletics who are not eligible for the Grizzly Hall of Fame, which includes athletes and coaches only.
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held in the Adams Center on the University of Montana campus in Missoula on Sept. 9, with the class of 2022 celebrated on the field during the Grizzlies’ football game against South Dakota on Sept. 10. Ticket information for the banquet will be announced in the near future.
GRIZZLY SPORTS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2021
Scott McGowan
Track & Field 2000-2005
Poplar, Mont. (Poplar HS)
McGowan was the first Montanan to ever run a sub-four-minute mile and was tabbed by former UM track coach Brian Schweyen as “the greatest middle-distance runner to ever compete at UM.”
During his collegiate career, he was a four-time All-American, earning the honor twice in the indoor mile and the outdoor 1,500 in both 2002 and 2004. In his senior year, he finished fourth in the nation in the indoor mile and seventh in the outdoor 1,500.
He later placed 12th in the 1,500 in the 2004 US Olympic Trials in Sacramento. He was also a three-time Big Sky Conference champion, winning the indoor mile and outdoor 800 and 1,500 in 2004.
To this day, he holds three school records in the indoor mile (4:02.07), the outdoor 1,500 (3:41.87), and the indoor distance medley relay (9:49.23).
He broke the sub-four-minute mile barrier in January of 2005, finishing at 3:58.91 at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games. Later that year he became the Unites States champion in the indoor mile at the USATF Indoor Nationals.
He earned Academic All-Big Sky honors his freshman season and was named the team’s “Most Inspirational” athlete in 2001.
McGowan graduated from UM in 2004 with a degree in History and went on to compete around the world professionally. A fourth-generation Montanan, he now works the family farm in his home town of Poplar.
His father, long-time basketball player and coach Felix McGowan was inducted into the Montana Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in 2021.
Quoting McGowan: “When you’re an athlete, at least for me, you’re not looking to land in any sort of hall of …….
(Editor’s note: University of Montana media release)
MISSOULA — The University of Montana athletic department announced the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame incoming class of 2022, as well as this year’s recipient of the Grizzly Lifetime Honors Award on Monday.
All five of this year’s honorees are homegrown from the state of Montana, with three hailing from Missoula.
All-American runner Scott McGowan of Poplar, Lady Griz Big Sky MVP Ann (Lake) Rausch of Missoula, All-America offensive lineman Thatcher Szalay of Whitefish, and championship-winning basketball player and coach Blaine Taylor of Missoula will all be inducted in the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame class of 2022.
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(Editor’s note: University of Montana media release)
MISSOULA — The University of Montana athletic department announced the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame incoming class of 2022, as well as this year’s recipient of the Grizzly Lifetime Honors Award on Monday.
All five of this year’s honorees are homegrown from the state of Montana, with three hailing from Missoula.
All-American runner Scott McGowan of Poplar, Lady Griz Big Sky MVP Ann (Lake) Rausch of Missoula, All-America offensive lineman Thatcher Szalay of Whitefish, and championship-winning basketball player and coach Blaine Taylor of Missoula will all be inducted in the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame class of 2022.
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